Schools Crack Down on Violations

By |September 2, 2011

Thousands of school kids have been suspended or expelled across Massachusetts — especially in suburban districts — as superintendents and principals get tough on everything from bullying to drug dealing, reports the Boston Herald. “We're all just in a time where there's more accountability,” said David Fleishman, who has been superintendent for a year in Newton, which saw a 36 percent increase in incidents prior to his arrival. “We're reporting everything more.”

Among the incidents reported by school officials involving students are: smoking, drug possession and sales, fighting, sexual harassment, stealing, making threats, carrying knives and less serious offenses, such as skipping school and acting up in class. A review of Department of Education data at 28 urban and suburban school districts between 2007 and 2010 shows huge increases in the suburbs and decreases in big cities in reported incidents. In South Hadley, there was a 17 percent increase — from 230 reported incidents in 2008 to 268 in 2010, the year 15-year-old freshman Phoebe Prince killed herself after being bullied. In Milton, reported incidents increased 46 percent, and in Marshfield, reported incidents increased 78 percent.

TCR's WEEKLY Criminal Justice Newsletter is FREE! Subscribe Here

Read Next

Students who are punished for behavioral problems by being suspended or expelled from school—as opposed to receiving mental health treatment and medication—are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system later in life, according to a study published in Criminology, a journal of the American Society of Criminology. Prior research suggests that Black and Latino students are more likely to receive punishment rather than medical treatment.

"Similar to a criminal record, school punishment involves being labeled . . .

Firearms thefts rose 37 percent increase, and the higher rate is continuing this year, says the Kansas City Star. Many gun owners are making it easy for criminals to propel the city's high rate of gun violence. They are stowing their guns carelessly in cars, not securing them in locked boxes, and failing to record serial numbers to help law enforcement if they are stolen.

“It’s kind of cutting-edge technology now,” said Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev of St. Petersburg, Fl., which tested gun cameras this year. “One thing about the gun camera is you can actually see what’s going on. You actually get to see the viewpoint of the officer where the weapon is pointed.”

Corrections authorities believe encouraging “family-friendly” events inside penal institutions will motivate prisoners to change their behavior when they are released. But this is wishful thinking unless there’s better social support for reentry, writes an inmate at a Washington State penitentiary.